According to the U.S. State Department, the number of Americans living in Mexico has risen from about 200,000 to between 600,000 and 1 million in the past decade.

Enrique Riquelme, owner of the ReMax real estate firm in Playa del Carmen, says most of his American clients are retirees or young people looking for a lifestyle change. The cost of living is anywhere between 25 percent and 75 percent cheaper in Mexico than it is in the United States, and expatriates say they are enjoying lower prices for health care, housing, and various luxuries.

Under Mexican law, American expatriates need only to demonstrate a 60 percent level of proficiency in the Spanish language and be able to sing the national anthem in order to gain permanent residency, and they do not need to give up their American citizenship to do so.